Oxidizing pyrite-smelting furnace



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J. S; LODER. O'XIDIZING PYRITE- SMELTING PURNAGB. No. 567,986. vPatented Sept.22, 1896.

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J- S. LODER. OXIDIZING PYRITBY SMELTING FURNACE. No. 567,986. PatentedSept. 22, 1896.

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JOHN S. LODER, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

OXIDIZ ING PY-RlTE-SMELTING FURNAOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 567,986, datedSeptember 22, 1896. Application filed July 19, 1895. $erial No. 556,511.(N0 model.)

invented certain new and useful Improve:

ments in Oxidizing Pyrite-Smelting Furnaces, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to the smelting of the various combinations ofiron, copper, nickel, zinc, gold, silver, platinum, and other metals,both natural and artificial, on the one side, and metalloids ornon-metals, such as sulfur, arsenic, and antimony on the other, and iscombined in pairs or exist in more complex forms. This smelting iscarried on in one operation, without any preparatory treatmentwhatsoever, in a vertical blast-furnace constructed as shown by drawingshereto attached.

The object of my invention is to provide economical and practical meanswhereby such ores, or any of their compounds, as pyrites, sulfids,arsenide, or antimonide and other ores of an approximate chemical naturemay be easily smelted and a matte produced therefrom which contains allthe metals of any value that have an affinity for sulfur or sulfidcompounds, with one (1) per cent. or more of carbonaceous fuels added tothe above compounds when fed into the furnace. I

In the present and most practical methods of smelting such ores or theircompounds they are first roasted in a mass, (reverbera tory furnaces orother methods being used to oxidize these ores,) thereby driving ,offthe combustible elements. produced are heated and fused in furnaces withthirty to fifty per cent. carbonaceous fuels, which fuels take the placeof or supply the combustible elements destroyed in roasting andrequiring three or four smelting operations before the product is of acommercial value. I

In the carrying out of my inventions and smelting operations I utilizethe combustible elements of such ores and their compounds instead ofdestroying them, so thatinstead of using thirty to fifty per cent. ofcarbonaceous fuel I require only one to three per cent, and the resultis effected in one operation, producin a commercial product by the useof an im- Then the oXids so.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a front view of the lower partof my improved furnace. Fig. 2 is a sideview. Fig. 3 is a transversesectional elevation showing the receiving-chamber communicating with theflue. Fig. 4 is an enlarged part-sectional View showing the spout andmatte-receptacle.

. A is the body of the furnace, with waterjackets ,0 7, supported on abase-plate w, which rests on columns 00 w and is protected from themolten contents of the furnace by a layer of refractory substance t.

The columns as may take the form of jackscrews, as shown at Y, Fig. 1.

From the body of the furnace A extends a funnel B to a flue 0,,Wl1l0l1communicates with a structure containing a chamber D, from which leads achimney f. Y

The hollowhood or funnel B and the flue O are constructed with doublewalls, as shown, communicating with the blastpipe a and between whichthe blast for said furnace passes, thereby heating the air of the blastand correspondingly cooling and protecting the surthey pass through ontheir way to the stack f.

From the coil of pipe 6 the blast is. conducted by a pipe hto thebustle-pipe i of the furnace,

'from whence the blast, now heated, is distributed to the twyers Z bymeans of the twyer-pipes 7c in the usual manner;

The water for cooling the jackets 7* comes from any convenient sourcethrough the supply-pipet and when heated overflows from the spouts 5into the necks of the lower jackets 0, which are thus supplied andprotected by hot Water rather than by cold, which is the usual custom.From these jackets 0 the water escapes in the customary manner throughthe spouts 19. As thus constructed, one water-jacket sets directly ontop of the other, furnishing the entire walls and body of the furnace,saving thereby the expensive brick and other work in construction, whichhas heretofore been required.

I heat the water that is required for the lower jacket, which is thesmelting-zone of the furnace, allowing me to maintain a more uniformdegree of heat and to attain a much higher temperature than the oldsystem of using cold water at the smelting-zone, there by saving a largeper cent. of heat and preventing the danger of cracking or breaking thejacket.

Another great advantage is the readiness with which the furnace can becooled in case of accident, and the ease with which repairs can be made,while in the old system it takes weeks to cool the furnace sufficient tomake the many repairs which are needed from time to time. My furnace canbe constructed at seventy-five per cent. less cost than usual.

The air-jacket protects the hood from the oxidizing action of the heatedgases and further assists the blast of the furnace.

It will be seen that the chamber D heats the air and acts also as afume-chamber without the use of additional heat other than that obtainedfrom the furnace. I am aware that there are other outside heatingarrangements for the purpose of promoting smelting operations where thefuel has been used for heating the air, but entirely different fromthis.

B is a spout for removing the contents of the furnace when molten. O isa receiver and settler for holding the molten material which escapesfrom the furnace A by means of the spout B. D is a spout on saidreceiver for permitting its contents to escape either into a slag-pot Zor elsewhere. The walls of these furnace accessories, spouts, andreceiver are made hollow, with spaces It, as shown, and from a main pipe19 air is forced by branches 0 to one or each of these parts, andpassing through the hollow walls cools and protects the same, becomingat the same time itself heated. It then escapes through the pipes e tothe bustle-pipe 2', from which it is conducted to the twyers by thetwyerpipes 7c'in the usual manner.

The danger heretofore experienced in using water-jacketed slag-spouts isthat they often chill and the slag hardens, requiring to be cut out. Theair-jacketed slag-spouts above described can be kept uniform and at amuch higher temperature without danger of explosion and such formationsaccumulating. The air that is forced through this slag-spout is suppliedfrom the usual blower and is sufficient to go directly into the furnaceas a part of the blast to be used in the smelting operation.

The doors J of the furnace are water-jacketed and are attached to thefurnace by hinges m, and are fastened in closed positions by latches n.

The chambers 25 of the doors are supplied with water from any of theother jackets by means of the pipes g, which are jointed and madeflexible, so as to allow the doors to open and shut withoutdisconnecting the pipes or interrupting the water supply.

The air-jacketed receiver or matte-receptacle described receives andseparates the product from the smelter and utilizes the heated air thathas been produced within the receptacle, and the same is introduced intothe furnace, thereby assisting the smelting operation. In thisreceptacle the sulfids carrying the values of the different metalshaving the greater specific gravity separate from the slag and settle tothe bottom of the receptacle, where the sulfids are drawn out through anaperture 10. It is then run into pots, then into molds, and in this formit becomes a com-- mercial product.

IVithout limiting myself to the precise construction and arrangement ofparts shown, I claim as my invention 1. In a smelting-furnace, thecombination with the body portion, of a hood and flue mounted thereon,twyers entering at the base of the body portion, a bustle-pipe, pipesleading from the bustle-pipe to the twyers, a casing surrounding thehood and flue, with an intermediate chamber, a pipe leading from theupper end of said chamber and connecting with the bustle pipe, and aheating-chamber into which the products of combustion pass, the saidchamber surrounding a portion of said connecting-pipe and communicatingwith an exit-flue, substantially as described.

2. A smelting-furnace comprising superposed waterjackets, the uppermostjacket having a water supply and an outlet emptying into the lowermostjacket, the latter having an outlet, a hood and line supported by saiduppermost jacket, a casing surrounding the hood and flue with a chamberintervening between the two, twyers entering the base of the furnace, apipe communicating with the twyers and the chamber, and a heatingchamberreceiving the products of combustion and inclosing a portion of saidcommunicating pipe, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN S. LODER.

WVitnesses:

HENRY LEvIs, IV. B. DUVALL.

